Ketamine

What is ketamine?

Ketamine is a fast-acting anesthetic and
painkiller used primarily in veterinary surgery. It is also used to a
lesser extent in human medicine.

Ketamine can produce vivid dreams and a
feeling that the mind is separated from the body. This effect, called
“dissociation,” is also produced by the related drug PCP. Ketamine’s
mind-altering effects make it prone to abuse. When ketamine is used in
human medicine, it is often given with sedative drugs to offset these
effects.

What does ketamine look like?

Ketamine prepared for medical use is a
colourless, tasteless and odourless liquid that can be injected.
Ketamine is usually converted into a white powder before it is sold
illegally. It may also be sold as capsules or tablets. The powder can be
snorted, mixed into drinks or dissolved for injection. The liquid can
be added to drinks or to marijuana or tobacco.

Who uses ketamine?

Ketamine is legally available only to
veterinarians and medical doctors for medical use. The ketamine sold
illegally on the street or in clubs is often stolen or diverted.

Ketamine has been used for its mind-altering
effects since the 1970s. In the 1990s ketamine became known as a “club
drug” for its use in the dance club scene.

A 2011 survey of Ontario students in grades 7 to 12 reported that 0.9 per cent had used ketamine at least once in the past year.

How does ketamine make you feel?

The way ketamine—or any other drug—affects you depends on many factors, including:

your age and your body weight

how much you take and how often you take it

how long you've been taking it

the method you use to take the drug

the environment you're in

whether or not you have certain pre-existing medical or psychiatric conditions

if you've taken any alcohol or other drugs (illegal, prescription, over-the counter or herbal).

At low doses, ketamine can have stimulant
effects. Users report a sense of floating, dissociation and numbness in
the body. When ketamine is taken in higher doses, users often become
withdrawn. They may not remember who or where they are, and may stumble
if they try to walk, feel their hearts race and find it difficult to
breathe. High doses can also cause loss of consciousness.

Visual experiences can include blurred
vision, seeing “trails,” and intense hallucinations. Some report
feelings of an “out-of-body” or “near-death” experience. These
experiences of detachment are sometimes described as a place, known as
“the K-hole.” This experience can be terrifying.

How long does the feeling last?

The effects of ketamine are usually felt
between one and 30 minutes after taking the drug, depending on whether
it is injected, snorted or taken by mouth. The effects usually last
about an hour. Some users may feel low or anxious, have some memory loss
and experience flashbacks of their drug experience long after the
effects of the drug have worn off.

Is ketamine dangerous?

Yes. If it is not used under the care of
health professionals in a medical setting, users of ketamine put
themselves at risk in a number of ways:

Like all anesthetics, ketamine prevents users from feeling pain.
This means that if injury occurs, a person may not know it. People
under its effects may have difficulty standing up and be confused about
their surroundings. Ketamine-related injuries and fatalities are often
the result of falls and other accidents.

Ketamine has been labelled a “rape drug.” This is because it can be
slipped into someone’s drink without the person’s knowledge, and its
effects can render the person unable to resist sexual assault.

Ketamine raises heart rate and blood pressure, which can increase the risk of stroke or heart attack.

The ketamine sold at clubs may be mixed with other drugs. Taking
ketamine with other drugs can have unpredictable and sometimes dangerous
effects.

Driving or operating machinery while under the influence of
ketamine, or any drug, increases the risk of physical injury to the user
and to others.

Is ketamine addictive?

Regular users of ketamine soon become
tolerant to the dissociative effects of the drug, meaning more and more
is needed to achieve the same effect. Some people do become addicted,
and continue to use ketamine even when they plan not to or despite its
negative effects. It is not clear whether people who are addicted to
ketamine experience any symptoms of withdrawal when they stop taking the
drug.

What are the long-term effects of using ketamine?

Research into the non-medical use of ketamine
suggests that the long-term effects can include flashbacks, social
withdrawal and memory loss.